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| Can't you see the excitement?! |
Our dear friend Saowanee (Nee), her husband Jim, and their niece Rosie came over to show us how to make some traditional, and some slightly Americanized, Thai dishes!
The first thing Nee showed us how to make is called Krathong Tong, a Thai appetizer.
Traditionally, apparently, this is made with crispy Thai pastry cups, filled with seasoned pork or chicken, and veggies. We cheated and used Tostito's Scoops chips! And added ghost pepper salsa to the completed appetizer... Why? Because - Ghost Pepper Salsa!
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| Krathong tong in the foreground, and me holding one! |
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| Massaman Curry, almost done cooking! |
Please watch this video on high res, and full screen. I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it!
As usual, I will follow with screen grabs and more instructions, the recipe, and transcript!
(Full screen it - you know you want to!! oh, and share! Share and Like, like and share - and subscribe!)
I hope you watched our awesome video! And even more that you enjoyed it.
Now for step by step instructions to help you make these dishes, and realize though it may seem daunting, as my sis Nessy pointed out, it really isn't all that difficult.
#1: Krathong Tong
This is amazingly simple and would be awesome for casual dinner parties/football games/etc!
You start by sauteing about half a large yellow onion until it is, well, actually yellow - or cooked!
Then add in ground pork (or chicken if you like!) and stir it up until it is cooked.
Don't forget to add garlic powder and pepper :)
The idea of something called 'Fish Sauce' may be daunting to those of us who aren't used to cooking with it, but it is actually savory and salty and used in tons of Asian foods - so go get yourself some and add a few dashes of this delicious sauce to your pork and onion mixture.
Next up - add some Hoisin sauce to make it sweeter and amplify your flavors.
Also - please take a peek at Rose's gorgeous, glittery nails. She even painted them herself.
Pretty talented for a nine year old, right? Considering I have no nails at all!
When the pork is about done, add in carrots, green beans, peas, and corn.
This is super simple because all you have to do is microwave them, then stir them together in the pan.
When you are ready to serve, add in a bit of cilantro, stir, and plate.
With a small spoon, fill all your scoop chips (or crispy cups if you made some!), with this awesome concoction of meat and veggies.
Then name yourself the official taster, and enjoy!! But don't forget to top it with ghost pepper salsa!
This salsa had an awesome smoky quality, and despite their attempt to scare you with the labeling, it really wasn't all that hot (yes, we've been there with ghost peppers!) but was an awesome addition to this really cool and simple snack!
Time to move on to dinner!
#2: Massaman Beef Curry!
As is pretty traditional with this type of curry, you're going to want to chop up loads of carrots and potatoes...
When all was said and done, Jim had chopped up about 2 cups each of potatoes and carrots, as well as a large yellow onion.
Rosie looks on as Nee prepares the beef!
The beef gets cut into decent sized cubes, and waits to be added to the curry.
This was a new one for me - this is called 'wet tamarind' and apparently is quite sour.
Theron helps Nee :)
You add hot water and mix the tamarind as much as you can, then let it sit so the water is infused with its... tamarindy-ness!
To get your curry started, add a fair amount of coconut cream to a pot. You don't need to add oil, because this will turn in to a sort of oil on it's own. Rose stirs it down for us.
(Meanwhile, Nee starts a pot to boil the potatoes and carrots)
Once the cream has cooked down, add two small cans of Massaman curry paste.
This is what it looks like when those two ingredients mix together.
To this, add your cubes of beef, and cook to sear the outside, mixing well.
Don't forget to check and occasionally stir your veggies!
Back to your curry: time to add a can of coconut milk.
And the rest of your coconut cream!
Starting to look familiar? And delicious? I think so!
Add cashews to make it even that much more delicious!
While this cooks together, it's time to revisit our beloved fish sauce.
Add approx 2 teaspoons of the glorious, shining liquid into a measuring cup.
Then add a fair amount of palm sugar.
Add the palm sugar - fish sauce mixture into your curry.
Remember that tamarind that has been sitting in water for a while? It's time to add the liquid from that - but just the liquid folks!
Add some chili pepper sauce as well, because you aren't crazy and you understand how important this is!
Also, as Nee explained to us:
Massaman curry should be sour, sweet, and salty - so why not a little spicy too?
When it tastes just right - add approximately 2 cups of yellow onion. Yum!
Now it's time to add the veggies you've had on a slow boil in that pot over there.
Nee says you can add any veggies you like, but these are darn good ones.
Then, sprinkle in some fried onions.
And you are ready to go!!
We ate ours over basmati rice, and believe you me, it was delicious.
The last thing to do is hug your guests!
Just try to hug them without looking like you're choking them out!
I hope you enjoyed this!!
I know I really did, it was so fun to watch Nee and her family in action, and to learn a new meal!
It was also fun to play a game with Rose on her tablet called Emoji 2... gotta get that game! :)
Now I will attempt to give you something of a recipe :)
Krathong tong
- 1/2 large yellow onion, cooked till golden
- ground pork or chicken, cooked with the onion
- a dash of garlic powder
- some pepper
- a few dashes of fish sauce
- a few dashes of hoison sauce
- 1 bag microwaved veggies (carrots, peas, green beans, and corn)
- top with some sprigs of cilantro
- chips or pastry cups, filled with above mixture
- top with ghost pepper salsa and enjoy!
Massaman Curry
- half a large chunk of wet tamarind, leave to soak in hot water
- chopped up 2 cups potato to boil in pot
- chopped up 2 cups carrots to boil in same pot with the potatoes
- chop large chunks of beef
- several table spoons coconut oil to cook down in pan
- 2 jars of massaman curry paste to add to the coconut oil
- stir in your beef
- add a can of coconut milk
- add the rest of your coconut cream, stir
- add cashews (or whichever nuts you prefer)
- add a large amount of palm sugar to two teaspoons or more of fish sauce, stir in
- add in the liquid from your tamarind, but none of the chunks!
- add some chili sauce (we used sauce made from dried chilis in oil)
- add 2 cups yellow onion
- add in your boiled potatoes and carrots
- top with fried onion
Serve over rice or with rice as a side. Enjoy! ...or
เพลิดเพลิน!!!!
or... ขอให้เจริญอาหาร!!!
or something ^-^
-Val!
Video Transcript:
Hi and welcome to Cooking With Us!
We have our friend Nee, (HI) Rose, and James over there, he's working on carrots.
And the first thing that we're going to enjoy, which apparently goes on chips, is called.... Kratong tong? Yes.
And apparently we're using yellow onion...mhm...
And what else?
Peas, and carrots, and corn.
And this one - ground pork.
Here you go.. Thank you.
She's already a chef.
High or medium? Medium
Yellow, is when you're gonna stir this one. For Rosie.
Don't be shy! Don't be shy!
You're gonna be on the blog for Valerie.
She just shows them to everybody.
No need to be shy at all!
You put the garlic powder, a little bit.
Push the button at the top. Wow!
It is two-thousand-fourteen!
It is two thousand fourteen!
OK
This one is fish sauce!
Fish sauce, first time ever.
Hoison sauce makes it like, more tasty.
Now...
You just everything inside.
In Thailand there's not too much stuff like this...
But we just try to make it more and more delicious.
Adding to it. Yes,
And know how the texture of the food, what is good, not good, to mix together.
Oh yeah, that's that's definitely important.
This is ghost pepper salsa on this. Yes!
Oh god...
And you're out!
Oh my gosh that's so good!
My mouth is watering.
Is it? Yes you can try with the second one.
It's not as scary as you think.
Yeah, awesome!
Rosie, you try! You made it, you try!
And it works out so well with the scoops.
Good! Mhm
Jimbo,Try!
It's not an experiment, I've had it before.
What are you making right now?
Massaman Curry.
This is getting the curry ready over here, right?
Yeah
Tamarind sauce. What? Tamarind Sauce. Tamarind. Tamarind?
Oh wow I've never even seen it like that before. It's sour!
So what is this?
This is the beef, we're cooking Massaman beef today.
It's very soft and tender when you eat it.
Fine with me...
We make the coconut cream, cream, like turn to oil, Rosie.
Oh wow.
Two cups carrots, two cups potatoes right? Potatoes...
In half a pot of water.
Almost turned to the oil now.
Isn't it just boiling?
No, just stir - Rosie!
It make, make, you feel it stickier, right?
Yes and now we turn to the oil.
What was that? Ha!
Well it smells really good.
There's a lot of grease in that Massaman curry stuff huh?
Yeah because it's oil.
Oh because it's oil...
The beef, stir with the curry to make the surface of the beef tender.
Oh so we're just searing the outside right now? Is that the - Ok.
More coconut milk.
Wow that looks freaking amazing.
Ooh put in the whole jar!
No.
Haha
Normally they put the peanuts...
yeah yeah
But I just, I love this one.
Me too!
Yeah, everybody loves cashews.
That's so crazy hard. Oh, yeah.
Two spoon - teaspoons
Of the fish oil?
Yes.
Palm sugar. Palm Sugar.
Yeah.
(discussion of ghost peppers)
What's inside still?
It's the meat of the tamarind... it's sour.
For this curry it means, sour, sweet, and salty.
This one's spicy... Can I put some?
Put some. Oh yeah.
Oh no, not spicy!
Yes, yes please! Please yes.
It's sauce for... pepper!
Sweet sour and salty, a little bit?
Mhm
Sweet sour and salty!
it's good
Oh I can say that really fast!
Sweet sour and salty!
We top with the onions.
I once had a friend of mine tell me that I tend to over-onion when I cook I said... that's impossible.
There's no such thing.
You can put more, any vegetables that you want to,it makes - sure.
Whatever you want to but, this one is colorful and delicious, so...
Oh Colorful!
Fried onion, for smell, and just, everything is gonna be very very delicious.
I believe that!
And here we've got some basmati rice cooking up.
Thank you so much!!
Thank you thank you.
I'm eating.
mmm, that's good... It's very similar to the yellow the yellow ...curry...
Oh is it spicy? Is it spicy??
mmhm it is spicy?
Oh my gosh yeah that is good.
It's really good right?
Is it spicy?
Nope - it's good.
Yep Thank you!
Thank you for joining us for Cooking With Us.
This has been me, Nee, Rose, Jim, and Theron... And Brigly...
Mmmm
Brigly's in love!
Fish Sauce!
Yeah Fish Sauce! The next thing is fish sauce!
Sweet, sour, and salty, right?
Mhm
Sweet sour and salty!
That's pretty fast.
Cool! I'll try it for tomorrow dinner.
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